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Study: In Europe, low-value cash payments migrating to cards

From 2010 to 2012, the number of card payments in western Europe grew by 15 percent, while in central and eastern Europe, they increased by 82 percent.

October 21, 2014

The volume of card payments grew significantly across Europe between 2010 and 2012 as consumers increasingly used cards for payments they used to make with cash.

According to a new report from RBR, "Payment Cards Issuing and Acquiring Europe 2014," The number of card payments in western Europe grew by 15 percent over this period, while in central and eastern Europe, they increased by 82 percent.

Card use has been boosted generally by three trends:

• a move away from cash for low-value payments;
• the increased issuance — and acceptance — of contactless cards;
• and the growing proliferation of mPOS acquiring, seen in markets such as France, Denmark, Greece, Bulgaria, Russia and Kazakhstan.

From 2010 to 2012 in CEE, the volume of card payments increased faster than the value due to the move towards card use for lower-value payments. Western Europe saw an increase of 15 percent in the value of card payments; CEE saw growth of 69 percent.

The continuing boom of e-commerce also is driving card payment volumes: In 2012, e-commerce payments via cards totaled 2.5 billion across western Europe and 224 million in CEE — representing 6 percent and 4 percent of total card payment volumes respectively.

The payment cards markets in western Europe still show signs of potential for further development, with issuers and acquirers adopting new technology to encourage consumers to use cards more frequently and for a wider range of transactions. For its part, CEE continues to offer potential for increased cardholding in many markets.

Although the drivers in the two regions vary significantly, both can expect to continue to grow for some years to come, RBR said.